'Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion:' A book review

Lions of the West: Heroes and Villains of the Westward Expansion
Robert Morgan
Algonquin Books, 496 pp., $28.95

Reviewed by Dan Goldberg

Hindsight, it is said, is 20/20, but it can be myopic as well, obscuring nuance and uncertainty in favor of a perceived inevitability.

Today, it might seem as though the United States was destined to expand from sea to shining sea, but it was a very uncertain proposition during the nation’s early years. Spain, France, Great Britain, Mexico and dozens of Native American tribes had stakes and interests in the West.

It was only through the cunning, ingenuity and sometimes brutality of two generations of American leaders that the United States was able to reach the Pacific.

Robert Morgan, noted for his novel "Gap Creek" and biography of Daniel Boone, looks at 10 of these Americans — from the famous Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, to the less-well-known Nicholas Trist.

Morgan’s collection of minibiographies covers the early 19th century. There is no narrative connecting one chapter to another, but that detracts little from the book as a whole, which deals as much with the personalities of these men as their role in the expansion or exploration of territory.

Perhaps most interesting, and somewhat surprising, is how many of these men run into one another during their lives, either fighting battles together in the field, opposing one another in politics or, in some cases, both.

Morgan does a yeoman’s job of helping readers understand the animus and alliances that led to important events, and provides insights on what these men thought of one another. Andrew Jackson’s rivalry with David Crockett, for example, leads the famed woodsman to a martyr’s death at the Alamo, which helps galvanize support for annexing Texas.

These insights often prove to be the most entertaining as they illustrate a humanity often lacking in historical figures. The colorful and provocative Sam Houston describes the dour James Polk as a "victim of the use of water as a beverage."

The subtitle is a bit misleading. The villains are few and the protagonists receive little in the way of criticism — though other historians have condemned this generation for its treatment of Native Americans.

Morgan begins his work with Jefferson — a lover of nature, patron of explorers and dreamer of expansion. Several pages are dedicated to Jefferson’s work, "Notes on the State of Virginia."

"His book is, among other things, a celebration and homage to his birth country," Morgan writes. Though he lacks Jefferson’s poetry, the same might be said about Morgan’s latest work.